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The Bonehunters/Chapter 8
While this did not belong to them, they yet stood. Of Jaghut, one can never know their thoughts, nor even their aspirations, but they were heard to speak, then. 'All told,' said Ganath. 'This sordid tale here has ended, and there is no-one left to heave the standard high, and proclaim justice triumphant.' 'This is a dark plain,' said Ivindonos, 'and I am mindful of such things, the sorrow untold, unless witnessed.' 'Not mindful enough,' said Sarkanos. 'A bold accusation,' said Ivindonos, his tusks bared in anger. 'Tell me what I am blind to. Tell me what greater sorrow exists than what we see before us.' And Sarkanos made reply, 'Darker plains lie beyond.'|Stela Fragment (Yath Alban) Anonymous}}}} Raraku Ganoes Paran travels south towards the newly awakened sea in Raraku and bypasses many villages and hamlets devastated by plague. Whatever game Poliel is playing, it is beyond his ability to comprehend. He thinks back months ago to his meeting with Kruppe in the Finnest House in Darujhistan. The fat, little man had told him the gods were at war and Hood was at the centre of things. It was Kruppe who convinced Paran to travel to Seven Cities with his report of a terrible crime in the making there. A nearby hill explodes and Paran senses Omtose Phellack. Coming closer, he sees the broken body of a T'lan Imass flung outside a newly destroyed barrow. The Jaghut woman, Ganath, climbs out of her former prison, telling him that one of her rituals has been shattered and she needs to repair it. Intrigued by the Paran, she decides to accompany him to the sea for a bath. Unknown Village Apsalar walks through a village struck by the plague, to find that there are no survivors. Telorast and Curdle note that she seems to be immune to the plague due to her association with Shadow. She senses that something terrible had occurred in Y'Ghatan. She enters the Shadow Realm to reach the city quickly and find the trail of the survivors. Imperial Warren In the Imperial Warren, Kalam, Quick Ben, and Stormy climb out of the pit below the Skykeeps to find a banquet table heaped with Malazan delicacies and four chairs waiting for them. Slightly perturbed, they nonetheless begin eating. Quick asks Stormy about the sword he holds for Legana Breed and about his adventures aboard the Silanda. The ship's original grey-skinned crew strongly resembles descriptions of a strange fleet that recently clashed with a Malazan escort near Geni. The Mage concludes they are Tiste Edur with Kalam arguing that Edur have returned to reclaim the Shadow Realm. Quick Ben also muses on the K'Chain Che'Malle and the war between the gods. Irritated by the worrying, Stormy rebukes them saying that the K'Chain are not their problem and that it is time to return to the Adjunct. The skykeeps are not going anywhere and they know what is inside them. Besides, Shadowthrone and Cotillion will win the war since they never fight fair. Y'Ghatan The survivors of the Last Siege of Y'Ghatan camp outside the city's former walls, recovering from their ordeal. Many are disheartened that they have been left behind for dead by the rest of the army. Bottle looks after the rat, now named "Y'Ghatan", that had saved their lives and towards whom the soldiers feel something akin to reverence. Strings has survived due to the strange healing properties of the Carelbarra and Corabb's care, the rebel now having joined them. Koryk wonders if their 'deaths' make this a perfect time to desert and believes a god's meddling is responsible for their survival. Balm is torn between pride that his entire squad survived and disgust that he deserves better soldiers. Hellian swears she will kill Urb once she escapes the ropes still binding her. Flashwit wishes she was as smart as some of the officers before Mayfly convinces her that brains just get in the way of soldiering. Cuttle tells Gesler, Thom Tissy, and Cord that he worries Bottle has made a secret pact with the Queen of Dreams to effect their escape. Gesler tells the sapper he should be more worried about crossing the desert without armour, weapons, and clothing and by the plague spreading towards them. Raraku Sea Ganoes Paran and Ganath reach the shores of the Raraku Sea, where Ganath says Paran's role as Master of the Deck sounds similar to the Errant's as Master of the Holds in her time. She warns him that like the Errant's followers, many will sacrifice the blood of innocents in an attempt to sway Paran to their causes. This troubles Paran. Paran stands on Raraku's shore and summons all of the sea's dead. He calls out to the Bridgeburners among them and they come forward, asking him what he wants. He tells them he needs their help because Dejim Nebrahl has loosed its chains and now hunts, becoming more powerful as it feeds on blood. Hedge laughs saying the ghosts have been busy twisting the hair of Korbolo Dom and his Dogslayers at the Battle of Raraku. The dead sapper reveals that the T'rolbarahl was released by the Nameless Ones, and now free of its geas, it is simply hunting. Ganoes then asks their help in summoning something from the other side: an entity that had defeated the D'ivers the last time — the Deragoth. 08